To honor the release of the Transformers movie, I thought today would be a good time to reminisce about the original heyday of the vehicles and weapons that were 'robots in disguise'. Of course, I am talking about the 1980's, when Transformers cartoons ruled the weekday afternoon airwaves.

Oh, what a glorious time that was for the tween set! Running home from school, dropping our books on the kitchen table, then plopping ourselves down in front of the television to watch Transformers, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, and M.A.S.K. right before our parents called us to the table for dinner. Sure, we ended up not doing our homework. Okay, our grades slipped. Yes, we had to repeat 9th grade a few times. Still, it was a time we would never forget!

Transformers Animated, slated for a January debut, would be the ninth series based on the toys. In this new series, rather than constantly pitting themselves against the Decepticons, the Autobots will instead fight a human enemy. The new series will also NOT be based on the new film version, though obviously the producers are hoping for a hefty boost from the movie to get a new generation interested in the franchise.

There are twonewTransformers movie trailers on YouTube. The live action movie comes out on July 4th- it's directed by Michael Bay, who does a lot of horror films but also big blockbusters like Armageddon and Pearl Harbor.

The trailers are short and fast and it's kind-of hard to see what's happening, but basically mechanical-looking monsters are chasing people and crushing cars. The trailers reveal that the movie is about the Autobots protecting the humans from the Decepticons, who have apparently come here to exterminate us (they're like Cylons!).

I watched both trailers (they're super short) and I had two thoughts: 1) Awesome!, and 2) This is going to be dumb. It looks cool but it also looks just slightly stupid, as fake machines are chasing people down the street and whatnot. Of course, I will still plop down my $10 to go see it in the theater because, where else would you see such a thing?

Check out both videos after the jump (the second one is best) and tell me what you think in comments.

Paper Robots has created its greatest achievement: Optimus Prime. This site gives downloadable instructions on how to cut-out and shape your very own Transformer... and it actually turns into a truck.

I downloaded the instructions and it looks simple enough that even a person like myself, who has absolutely zero craft-making skills, can master it. You just need a color printer, an exacto knife, tape, and the ability to fold paper. This is going to make an awesome addition to my desk, right next to the Dwight Schrute bobblehead doll.

Click here to see photos... and here to see an Optimus Prime with a shout-out to Say Anything).

I was a pretty big fan of the original Transformers cartoon, but never saw the feature film based on the same line of Hasbro toys. The movie has developed an odd kind of cult following, and has even been subtly alluded to in the mainstream in films such as Boogie Nights. It was also the last movie Orson Welles did before his death. The new 20th anniversary DVD set comes out in November, and will include behind-the-scenes footage and other premium content compiled with the help of Transformers fans. According to a plot synopsis, the movie takes place in 2005, twenty years after the TV show, and deals with the struggle between the Autobots and the Decepticons back on their home planet of Cybertron. Also, look for "updated" versions of the original toys around the same time the DVD comes out.